Metro North returns on Thursday, Malloy says riders can go free of charge

When Metro North services resume on Thursday morning out of Stamford, it will be an extra bonus for Connecticut passengers because they’ll be able to ride free of charge.

Late Wednesday, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced he has waived all rail fares for Thursday and Friday’s Metro-North rail service. This means for the next two days, people can take the train into Grand Central free for the next two days. New York has similarly waived fees for people traveling from the city to Stamford.

The Metro-North service to and from Stamford is expected to be scaled down considerably during those days, though, making about half its normal trips. Because of that Mr. Malloy advised commuters to plan accordingly and “work from home if at all possible.”

“Returning to normal service between Stamford and New York so quickly is a testament to the incredible, around-the-clock work by hundreds of dedicated Metro-North workers and I want to personally thank them,” Malloy said Wednesday night. “At the same time, I want to thank our commuters, who rely on this service on a daily basis, for their patience and understanding. In the wake of the devastation by this storm, this is a significant accomplishment.”

Connecticut’s Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said that waiving the fees was a good idea.

“Eliminating the charge for commuters is the right thing to do for the limited service that is available and for those commuters that have been inconvenienced by the lack of available rail service into New York,” Redeker said. “At the same time, we’d rather make this limited service more attractive for the next two days to help alleviate or minimize motor vehicle traffic entering the city.”

Other options to provide alternate transportation into the city, such as buses from the east end of the line, are being explored and state officials said they hoped that the full New Haven to Grand Central service can be restored soon.

Shore Line East commuter rail service, between New Haven and New London, will also resume Thursday morning. In addition, Amtrak will begin operating some limited service between New Haven and Springfield, and between Boston and Washington DC.